


Of Hunters and Dragons (Von Jägern und Drachen)

by Froot_Bean



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Anime/Manga Fusion, Dragon Riders, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-05-31 05:33:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19419490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Froot_Bean/pseuds/Froot_Bean
Summary: Behind the walls, the remainder of humanity feared the titans. The year that Eren Jaeger, Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert decide to join the Survey Corps, titans had begun disappearing and instead, massive dragons began taking their place, soaring the skies, with wingspans miles long. The Survey Corp has a new enemy now, and it's been proven a worthy opponent for humanity's strongest, Levi. Mass hysteria wipes the walls, and the Scouts, and when Eren begins growing dragon horns, the Scouts want him dead.Will Levi protect and tame Eren's new, terrifying form, or will he kill the last hope of humanity?





	1. The Beginning of the End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Behind the walls, the remainder of humanity feared the titans. The year that Eren Jaeger, Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert decide to join the Survey Corps, titans had begun disappearing and instead, massive dragons began taking their place, soaring the skies. The Survey Corp has a new enemy now, and it's been proven a worthy opponent for humanity's strongest, Levi. Mass hysteria wipes the walls, and the Scouts, and when Eren begins growing dragon horns, the Scouts want him dead.
> 
> Will Levi protect and tame Eren's new, terrifying form, or will he kill the last hope of humanity?

To Eren Jaeger, waiting in the shadows was the worst part of being an assassin. There had always been something about sitting or lying in a dark, clamped space that irked him to no end. In this position, there was only the darkness as a companion with the soft humming of the candle-lit lights flickering on and off on the nearby desk. This resulted in lots of time to contemplate the musings of humanity. Through his thoughts, Eren was much less interested in the mysteries and philosophies life brings, but more annoyed that his prey was taking too long in the bathroom. 

He sighed heavily, annoyed by the clammy space between the fabrics, he realized the darkness had begun growing unexpectedly hot, along with his body heat. His chestnut hair was sticking to his forehead and he wiped beads of sweat from his temple. 

He had been there for some time. Time long enough for the warm air collecting to begin clinging to his thin figure. He stood up and shook the precipitate off. It was at that point that Eren didn’t care if he risked himself being sighted, anything to get a breath of fresh air. 

After quickly adjusting his black bandana covering his mouth and nose for some needed oxygen, a welcomed scraping of the wooden bathroom door brought Eren’s attention back to his original intention. 

Quickly, he decided to get back to his spot for the utmost startle effect. Henri was clutching a large flask of dark alcohol in his hand and stared blankly through the open door. 

Without deciding to waste another moment, Eren ripped the fabric from his hidden spot behind the curtain, stepping into the barely-illuminated room. Henri, startled by the abrupt sound, spilled amber liquid onto the floor, the glass clinking once before shattering with an ear-piercing cry. For a moment, Henri whimpered, his dark green eyes trailing after the overturned flask of his former drink.

“W-Why are you… here?” Henri stammered, his trembling hands shook uncontrollably at his sides. 

Eren pulled his handgun from its sheath on his side, remaining silent for the moment. His sharp and cold gaze cut over Henri as he tensed himself for the elder’s possible escape attempt. “You’ve become a threat to our organization,” Eren replied, his deep voice cracking slightly from underuse, and muffled from the bandana around his mouth, shielding his face. 

The man took a hesitant step towards him. “Wait… I know that voice. You’re Grisha’s...” Despite Henri moving closer, Eren stood his ground and the pistol’s aim was raised at his target’s sweat-covered forehead, point blank. He couldn’t miss from this distance.

 _The more focused on me he is, the less likely he is to escape_ , Eren thought. _Good. Getting out will place my needed practicing to the test._

At once, the man became desperate, probably finally coming to more of his senses, and took note of the gun being pointed at him. 

“Please! Please, wait!” The man cried, getting down on his hands and knees, taking Eren by slight surprise. “Have mercy on me! I'll give you anything. How much do you want? I'll give it to you, just name your price!” Henri began kissing Eren’s feet, which were in fact, rather dirty.

“What’s this? Begging for your life? This is how you cowardly bastards get out of a life or death situation, don't you?” Eren inquired, lowering the gun to the man’s throat. “I'm no robber. I'm your executor. So I won't be taking your money, I have no need of it. Instead, you should have given that to the poor underlings you treat so horrifically with your abusive dictator-run industry. I'm only here to make you atone for your filthy sins. I’m here to take your life.”

However, the man wasn’t able to muster another word to respond, because at that moment, he fired his handgun. 

The sharp bullet cracked through the silence of the entire manor, the reverberating kickback and aftermath sizzled in his palm. The bullet grazed the air, striking the man’s throat and pushing clean through the other side before splitting a thick dent into the wall behind him. The familiar smoky smell of a freshly used bullet filled the room. Eren took a deep breath of it. 

Crimson blood began flowing out like a fountain from the fatal shot, the blistering, sticky drops had been splattered against the bare skin of Eren’s hands and covered the floor in glossy red. 

As the man fell lifeless to his knees, he clawed helplessly at his throat, with his aged mouth agape in horror and fear. 

If this had been Eren’s first time seeing a person's brink of death, he would have surely been traumatized. Instead, he only peered down with narrowed eyes at the dying man.

In less than twenty seconds, Monsieur Henri Leviathan was dead.

Taking a final glance at the corpse of the cruelest man in the industry, Eren scoffed. “Pathetic.” 

He then turned to the window, opening it quietly and emerged into the cool night. 

Eren remained perched on the window ledge for a few moments, allowing the chilled winter air to cool his damp skin. Nothing could prepare him for the gusts of winter wind. 

He felt his heart suddenly pounding. It was as if his body realized what he had done before it processed to the rest of him. 

There was no time to calm his racing heart. Undoubtedly, the guards must have definitely heard the blast from the gun, and there was only a certain amount of time before they burst into the dead man’s chamber. 

Eren cursed his choice of weaponry.

He carefully flattened himself against the stone walls of the chateau, using the window ledges for support. The night was windy, and each gust whipped his dark hair about his face, threatening to push him over the edge and to his death. Moving was a whole other obstacle, and slow work. But even made slower by the relentless wind at his back. Still, he continued along, ignoring the creeping of aches in his thighs and the sweat somehow gathering at his temples. 

It was only a matter of time before the guards think to look out the window, and if that happens before Eren lowers himself to the ground, he’s as good as dead.

“Hey! You!”

“ _Shit._ ” Eren cursed quietly.

Eren dared a quick glance below him. 

On the ground beneath his feet stood one of the Monsieur’s guards, clutching a pistol with unsteady hands. Without preamble, the man aimed his weapon and fired. The bullet whizzed through the air, directly past Eren’s ear and cracked the walls, creating a shower of stone fragments that rained down on his head and body. Eren brought up his arm above his head to shield himself from the onslaught of rock, closing his eyes for only a second.

A small grin tugged at the corners of Eren’s lips.

“You’re not a very good shot, are you?” Eren called down to the guard, his voice echoing through the air, hoping to taunt enough to frazzle the man into firing a second faulty shot.

It did.

The guard fired the pistol once again, only this time, his aim was even worse. The bullet landed meters away from Eren’s feet. He didn’t want the guard to shoot a third time, so with one last intake of breath, he launched himself off the window’s ledge. 

For a heart-wrenching moment, he was in free-fall, and then his hands shot up to grip the chateau’s grand doorway. As he scrambled to keep his grasp on the outcropping of the stone, he gritted his teeth and braced himself for another gust of wind that ripped through the blackened night.

Below him, the click of the guard readying the pistol for its third shot rang out in the momentary silence. Knowing more guards were bound to come running any second, Eren released his fingers and readied himself for impact. Fortunately, he managed to keep himself upright as he landed on the ground. The second Eren touched the soft ground, two more readied guards barreled into him and the firing guard, knocking them both into the grass. 

Though the older man was bigger, Eren had faster reflexes, and in an instant, he brought his leg up in one swift motion and smashed his knee against the guard’s nose. There was a sickening crack, and the guard rolled off him, hollering in pain.

“Quit playing with the bastard and get in the boat already!” called a familiar voice from the riverbank, his words carrying over the howling wind. 

Ignoring the guard’s desperate moans of agony, Eren turned to the river. “Oh, I apologize. How inconsiderate of me. Have you been terribly bored waiting there all by yourself?”

“ _I_ _diot_!” An annoyed growl was the response from the boat.

Beside him, the guard reached out and wrapped his hands around Eren’s right ankle, but he didn't have enough strength to knock him off his feet. 

Eren glanced down at the guard with a frown, and reached for his pistol. He pointed the barrel of the gun at the man’s head, his fingers wrapped around the trigger.

He studied the man’s face, his gaze moving from the sweat gathering at the guard’s hairline to the determined set of his features. Even with the pistol aimed directly at his head, the guard doesn’t falter, keeping his hand firmly gripped on Eren’s ankle in one last fleeting attempt to bring him to his knees.

Though in the end, he changed his mind altogether. He’ll have hell to pay for it later, but he never agreed to murder an innocent man. 

Instead, he spun the gun around and brought the butt of the weapon down on the guard’s temple. Hard. The man went limp, releasing the grip on Eren’s ankle at last.

Finally free, he makes a mad dash for the river and the shielded boat waiting for him there.

“Why in _God’s_ name did you take _so_ long?”

Eren ignored the complaint and focused his remaining energy on getting in without falling into the water, grunting and pulling himself on the bow. Once he was safely inside and the boat was making its way down the river, he allowed himself to finally relax. “My bad,” he mumbled, pulling the damp bandana off his face.

“Well, what was it?” Levi Ackerman asked, crossing his arms. “Tell me the truth. You had to run from the dogs again, didn’t you?”

Eren shot Levi the best scathing glare he could muster up under the circumstances. “ _I did not_. He took some time getting into the room, is all.”

“And you almost got caught.”

Eren shrugged. Levi might make a good conversationalist, but Gods, he was bossy and judgmental.

“When will you learn to be more careful?” Levi asked. “Get the job over with and get out as quickly as you can. No stalling.”

“Yes, I’m well aware of that, thank you,” Eren sighed with annoyance, focusing his attention on the fading sun as it dipped behind the river’s end, not only a sliver of fire against the navy sky.

“Now we’re going to be late,” Levi sighed.

“His last words were about me,” Eren said solemnly. “He knew who I was.”

“Who cares what some gassy old nobleman said about you? If we’re late to the Council meeting, we _won't_ have an alibi!” Levi slapped his oars against the river, creating a shower of water. “Besides, he’s dead now so it doesn’t matter either way. The real issue is getting to the _Grand Council_ on time.”

“No one will notice if we’re late,” Eren said. “All eyes will be on the _King_ anyways.”

Levi shook his head. “Not likely. Our absence is _always_ greatly detected. Yours especially, since you’re the trump card of humanity.”

“Oh well.”

“Don’t you ‘oh well’ this,”

“I may be humanity’s trump card, but you’re my Captain, and therefore you're interesting by association,” Eren says with the wave of a hand.

“Whatever. My fighting days are over. And so are the pointless arguments,” Levi huffed, but not without a slight smirk, a simple act Eren would have never expected from humanity’s strongest warrior himself’s stature three years ago. “The titans have been gone for three years anyways. We’re finally recovering our lands. This was the dream of everyone, right?”

“Yeah, it was.” Eren cracked a smile. 

“I can’t believe you’re still going on about that ‘ _Captain_ ’ shit. That's cute.”

Eren nodded. “It may not be relevant anymore but… _Still…_ Always my Captain.”

“Sure, brat,” Levi propped a leg up on the side of the boat and crossed his arms.

“Anyways, I heard there is an English girl debuting at court tonight who's rumored to be quite beautiful. Maybe you should try not to be such a bore and actually talk to a woman for once in your life?” Eren raised a brow, laughing.

“That was rude,” Levi splashed Eren mid-laugh. “And untrue.” 

“Ah, yes silly me to forget how you apologized to Queen Historia Reiss last week for stepping on her dress at the salon.”

“Sorry, was that before or after you were caught in bed with her older sister, Frieda Reiss?” 

Eren landed a rather uncalled for kick on Levi’s shin, and Levi’s eyes narrowed. “All I'm saying is you’d better act damn cheerful tonight. We can't let on we know anything about Henri Leviathan's death.”

“Or that I was the one who _kinda_ killed him.” Eren replied through gritted teeth. “It's alright. No one will know.”

“Yes, you're probably right.” Levi chuckled, sitting back on the wooden seat, looking up at the sky. “Being the world-renowned doctor’s son, wouldn't it be amusing if everyone found out the person killing off all nobility _is_ nobility himself?”

“No.” Eren stated. It wouldn't be funny. Not in the very least.

The fading afternoon sky darkened into a rosy pink with fleeting orange streaks as night quickly approached. Frieda Reiss walked to the balcony of the Reiss castle and took a breath of fresh air, her pink lips parting.

"Historia Reiss... What will we do...?" Her dark hair flowed in the breeze, the curls reflecting the last of the fading light. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story has long since needed to arrive. Once this story gets rolling, it'll be updated more frequently, also depending on my busy life. My hopes are looking high and my story ideas are endless so the update should be soon! Thanks for starting this series with me.


	2. The Silence Before Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After returning from their victim's house, Eren and Levi separate as they plan to get ready for the Council Meeting in the royal Castle in the city. Eren is becoming continuously more concerned about his friends' well-fare in the corrupt city they live in.
> 
> While learning of the horrific news of an imminent danger the city will be in, Levi is conflicted in his feelings on putting his uniform back on and fighting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of your support! I appreciate you taking the time to read through my work! More to come soon!~

“You’re late,” Mikasa Ackerman voiced to her friend, not turning away from herself in the mirror. 

Eren pinched his temples, and blew a steady stream of air in a long sigh out of his mouth, scratching his head in defeat. _She got me,_ Eren thought. _Again._ So much for being discreet and sneaking in behind her back.

It was almost laughable that he attempted to hide in plain sight, using the shadows as his only means of a shield. Yet, he couldn't usually get past her without being chastised anyways. He didn't want to deal with this. “Sorry, Mikasa,” Eren bowed his head apologetically.

“Welcome back, Eren."

"Ah, Armin," Eren gave a gentle smile to his friend beside her. Armin returned the gesture.

"Mikasa, please don’t be too mad at him. I’m sure he was only absent because he was getting ready for the meeting,” Armin Arlert exclaimed tentatively. 

The once wallflower had become an attractive, pale-skinned man, blossoming into the voice of reason, integrity, and confidence, though he still let fragments of his former counterpart surface occasionally. With his signature bright golden locks that once hung drearily over his eyes, they were now pushed out of his face in a formal manner Eren had never seen before.

Armin was seated in the decorative chair next to Mikasa’s quilted bed. He was sitting on the edge of her bed, beside one of her velvety golden pillows. 

Just one look at him was enough to make Eren sick with the fateful thought that his friend would be thrown into the hellish bowels of the Council for marriage soon. He’d like to freeze time, to keep his precious friend the age he was now, forever. To keep his large blue eyes pure and innocent and his smile, genuine and deceitless. 

“Where were you this time?” Mikasa tightly fastened her sapphire and pearl necklace around her neck and turned to Eren. 

“Why do you feel the need to worry so much about me all the time?” Eren muttered under his breath, crossing his arms in annoyance.

“What was that?” Mikasa’s voice became like daggers, as she stopped her motions, gazing at Eren through the mirror.

Worriedly, Eren shook his head. “Nothing! Nothing at all!” He forced a laugh from deep within his chest, and Armin gave his friend a sincere look and chuckled.

Mikasa sighed and looked back at her reflection, placing her slender hand over her necklace. “Right. I’m sure it was.” 

The raven-haired beauty could make any man fall to his knees with a simple flutter of her lashes. Though she rejected every man who attempted to propose, she still possessed the regal grace that could never be matched by any other women her age, aside from the Queen, in the rest of the Court. It had always been strange to Eren how he managed to be the only one that captivated her one-track mind of solitude, wanting to spend time with him. 

He scratched his head again. “You see, I was assisting Levi with his wardrobe,” Eren responded without hesitation. 

Mikasa’s eye twitched.

Eren nodded, resting his back against the stone wall beside the doorway, obliviously unaware of her hatred towards the Corporal.

“Yes, poor guy. He had a hard time choosing an outfit for an occasion such as this. I pitied him and decided to help. You know how he is with this stuff… But he came to a conclusion when I got there.” 

It had been years since lying had been second nature to Eren, as well as a chore. Now he lied more than he told the truth and somehow found the act comforting. It was so much easier creating stories; the difficulty really coming from dealing with reality.

“I bet Levi looks marvelous as always,” Armin mumbled, hugging the pillow close to his chest. “I keep forgetting he’s only thirty years old.”

"Tch." Mikasa turned back to Eren, ignored her friend’s remark of her despised older cousin, who favored Eren. “Then why aren’t _you_ ready, hm? It was rude of him not to return the favor and help you too.”

“He was in a rush. I ended up leaving my clothes there anyway. I thought I would be back in time to get ready and go. I apologize.” Eren pushed past Mikasa and Armin and made his way to his room.

However, he doesn’t make it too far before Mikasa’s light, quick footsteps catch up to him. “You don't fool me, Eren."

Without turning around, Eren raised his hands. "I surrender." 

"We can talk about that later." Mikasa smiled. "More importantly though… How do you like my dress? I had it specially made for me."

Eren turned to face her beaming face as she continued. 

"Historia told me I need to get used to wearing attire like this if I’m going to steal the heart of the Court next year.” She twirled, letting out a giggle as she showed off her champagne colored silk dress to Eren.

This was all out of character to Eren. Her disposition was new to him, even though this had been happening for years. All Mikasa used to do was fight. He would have never expected this day to come, ever. But since the last titan fell, that stoic warrior she once was had become much looser and independent these days. _Not that it's a bad thing_ , Eren added in his thoughts, shrugging. 

“The Court isn’t everything,” Eren mumbled.

Mikasa stopped twirling and fixed a saddened gaze on him. “Eren, before the wall fell, we never had this much freedom. Relax a bit."

She was right as always. Danger has been always on his mind. Though the titans _had_ disappeared years ago, there was still a pain left inside him that nothing could help it recover. The drama had not disappeared. People were still on edge, wondering, agonizing over theories that there would be a recurring event of apocalyptic human annihilation. Secret groups were created, which evolved into organizations that swore to secrecy, and killed off their hypothesized enemies within the new society. 

The Court itself housed numerous of these organizations. Though the Reiss family was at the peak of their royal reign, the Court was laced with a deadly poison that has no antidote. These members were undercover within the castle walls. This was why the people never spoke of their treasonable behavior. 

Almost everyone in the district either had the sense to ignore it or is too stupid to realize it’s there in the first place. Mikasa was torn in between, at least in Eren's perspective. 

Eren didn’t have that luxury. From the age of seventeen, he was thrust into the Court’s dark underbelly, and he learned fast that once you were exposed to evil, you never fully recovered your sense of happiness. This was the case in the fall of Shiganshina. Many men still hadn't recovered from those terrifying events they experienced.

“There is more to life than the Court. Remember that. Remember what we fought for,” Eren sighed, placing his hands on her shoulders.

Mikasa nodded. "Yes, Eren. We fought for _this_." She opened her arms and twirled around again. "Happiness. Free will. It's what we have now. Embrace it, Eren."

Eren sighed, giving Mikasa’s raven hair an affectionate ruffle. “Just… Don't forget that. Live your life how you want it to be.”

Mikasa hummed in response and didn’t protest at the soft head rub. “You would never lie to me though, would you?”

Eren looked down at her hopeful face. She was so beautiful and would grow even more so as time goes on. Men will want to do nothing _but_ lie to her. He must make certain that she’ll never get hurt. “No,” He replied softly. “I will always be here to protect you. _Always_.”

Satisfied with his response, Mikasa gives him a hug around his middle and skipped off happily down the rest of the hallway. Once she was out of sight, Eren opened his bedroom door with shaky hands and grabbed onto his armoire so he wouldn't slip to the floor.

What is life anyway but a big game of dress up? Everyone used to question what the point of life is when the titans were putting humanity on the brink of extinction. But this… Compared to _that_ , this is just stupid. 

Fancy clothes, honorful titles, and grooming were nothing more than cheap tricks to draw lines between each other's relationships and power. To make people hate each other. To give them an excuse to take another’s life. People wanted to continue fighting out of the sense of feeling purposeless, even though they obtained everything they wanted and more.

Eren sucked in great lungfuls of air to steady himself, gripping the armoire hard enough to inflict pain on his hand. Pain clears the mind like nothing else, and tonight, he can’t afford to have his mind clouded with disastrous thoughts. More than likely, Henri Leviathan’s death will be announced at the _Grand Council_ , and it won’t bode well he doesn't emulate the shock of the others in the room.

Once he had calmed himself sufficiently, Eren lifted his head and scrutinized his reflection in the mirror. His face changed after each kill, sometimes for the better, but usually for the worse. Something about Henri’s death has left him looking haggard and lonely. His face was pale and almost lifeless. He ran his hand through his long bangs, almost tempted to rip it out in angst.

Eren accepted a life of loneliness when he was coaxed into becoming an assassin, though the loneliness never bothered him until now.

Historia Reiss tugged awkwardly at her dress, feeling the seams stretch beyond their own means. _Damnit,_ the Queen cursed. _I knew this would have been a tight fit._

“That’s the last time I go to that seamstress,” she huffed, crossing her arms over her bedazzled white evening attire. Her golden hair draped down, softly curling along the ends as she struggled to attach her emerald necklace around her neck.

“You know, continuously adjusting your dress isn’t very becoming of the new Queen,” Sasha Blouse giggled through her teeth.

“Oh, you can only imagine,” Historia rolled her eyes, huffing again. “Isn’t there any other dress I can wear tonight?”

“Why? What’s the problem? That dress is spot-on.”

“It’s not that. I just don’t feel like _‘me’_ in it."

" _What_?" Sasha exclaimed as she peeked around the corner of the oriental full-body mirror, gazing at herself and the Queen. 

Historia continued, curling a lock of her hair around her index finger, "I guess it’s too… _‘not’_ me.” A small blush grew beneath Historia’s cheeks. “And… this dress just doesn’t fit correctly either.”

"Really?" Sasha gaped like a fish. "But it's new!" She, on the other hand, was wearing a billowing saffron dress, with jewel-tipped bows, larger than her face sewn into the bodice. Unrecognizable, Sasha looked stunning in her attire. She looked slightly 'new' in the extravagant dress, but not uncomfortable like Historia was, adjusting to her new lifestyle every second. 

Sasha's once messy hair that was the brown of mahogany, rich and deep, yet with the subtle black hues was tirelessly combed into a neat bun. Of course, this was all the efforts of Historia’s personal servants. “Besides,” Sasha smiles, “all the men will flock over _you_.”

"Men?" Historia gave Sasha a tired look. "Men are the least of my concerns at the moment, Sasha. I've got other more important things to worry about."

"Oh, right!" Sasha sparkled, grinning. "What kind of food will be around at the after meeting?"

The damask walls shone almost too brightly, like polished gemstones on a summer day in the sunlight. On the ceiling of Commander Erwin Smith’s office, painted pastel gods flew across a mural of golden-trimmed clouds, and twenty candles dripped wax on crystal ornaments swinging from gilded chandeliers. Below the extravagant aesthetics of the Commander’s lair, Levi had been pacing back and forth for the past eight minutes, rambling on about any new possible leads in the organizations.

When he turned to face the Commander, Levi gave the man a strange look. “ _Oi_. You hear me? Or are you really going to make me repeat everything I just said?”

“Yes,” Erwin nodded in confirmation. “I heard. Loud and clear.”

“Well…?” Levi, now impatient with the lack of syllables that usually stream from his leading Commander asked, leaning across the desk. His pale face was only millimeters from Erwin’s when he spoke. 

Erwin steadied his mind. “They’ve been seen.”

“Well, no shit. They disguise themselves as typical people, but they're up to no good.” Levi's eyes shifted to a guard dressed in light brown military attire. "He could be a spy. You never know."

At his mention, the man gave the two a surprised look and quickly moved out of office, closing the tall, wooden door behind him.

"I rest my point," Levi shook his head.

“Well, it wasn't just _them_. Others have been seen.”

“Oh?” Levi raised a brow, slightly intrigued. “Some new cavalry unit from another nation? How many men do they have?”

“They aren’t exactly a cavalry unit,” Erwin cast his gaze to the floor, studying the small crevices between the wood floorboards. “They aren’t people.”

“Titans…?” The color drained from Levi’s face as his usual rested and slotted eyes became wide in shock in mere moments. Barely able to speak, Levi clenched his fist. 

“It’s been confirmed by multiple witnesses only hours ago. The enemy is like nothing we have ever faced before.”

Levi glanced up at Erwin, his dark bangs covering the worry in his stormy eyes. "You're kidding, right?"

"Have you known me as a humorist?"

Levi remained silent, shaking his head.

Erwin continued. “They have been seen in the east. Flying beings.”

“Flying?” Levi’s lower lip trembled and his throat became dry. "No."

“Sit down if you need to,” Erwin uttered, his blue eyes unphased. “This is just like those creatures in the books hidden away from our eyes centuries ago, with wings miles long, breathing fire and ice. Their bodies are molten from mountains, rocks, and flame, and their teeth are sharper than any sword man could ever forage. Their bodies are impenetrable.”

“What exactly are they?” Levi mustered, reaching for the desk Commander Erwin sat at. The Corporal’s gaze was forced to the floor. 

“We don’t know what to call them… But they’re definitely not human. Or titan.”

“It’s been so long since we’ve fought. I don’t know if I know how to anymore.”

“Levi,” Erwin placed his hands on his comrade’s thin shoulders. “You need to stay calm. Your instincts will never fail you.”

Levi gave a short nod, looking at Erwin’s badge across his chest. Since the fall of the titans, he had proudly worn it, symbolizing humanity’s victory over the impossible.

“How… many…?” Levi cursed his soft, unrecognizable voice.

Erwin took a deep breath, his bright hair shimmering from the last of the fading daytime light. He closed his eyes. “Enough to wipe us out for good. And though Eren's shifting abilities have helped humanity in the past, he doesn't hold a candle to these monsters."

That wasn't the answer the Corporal wanted, and a small sigh escaped his lips as he shrunk down to his knees. "This life we've fought for..."

"It's about to change," Erwin stood up, placing his hand on Levi's shoulder again, reassuringly. "Now, up. Alert the Corps. Contact Hange for the gear and weapons."

"I understand." Levi saluted the Commander and walked over to the door. "Will you lead us again?"

Erwin cracked a small smile. "Without question."


	3. Eren and the Elder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before the ball and the Council Meeting in the Castle, Even ventures outside, and is met by an unlikely enemy. Will Eren go through with his instincts or be overcome by emotions?
> 
> Zeke Jaeger plans to return his step-brother to his side. And it's not what anyone is expecting.

_You are terrified._

_I can see you trembling beneath your skin._

_You are all alone and no one will hear you._

_No one will come running._

_You’re stuck here in your own void of despair you inflicted upon yourself._

_Nobody will save you._

_Nobody._

_Let me take over._

“Damnit.” Eren’s thoughts ran wild, untamed. His awareness fought back at every unnecessary thought crossing his mind. I’m not. Not here. Suddenly, he becomes struck by a rapid flash of recent memories -- Levi. Utter confusion racked his brain. 

_Why him?_

His mind didn’t pause. Levi on his couch. Levi making tea in his kitchen. Levi drunk after barely holding down a bottle of ale and vaguely sleepy, humming to himself on his way to the bedroom. Levi on the floor of the sitting room hunched over a spread of newspapers, ear craned to listen to the faint radio chatter. Levi scribbling notes for daily reports. Levi taking those afternoon fitful naps in his bed with the door propped open in case anyone dared disturb him. Eren thought of the way Levi’s skin got paler in the summer months, the way it looked so tight against his bones. 

“Damnit,” he muttered, cursing his sporadic daydreaming of the Corporal. “He sure spends a lot of time with me.”

On the walk to the Council meeting and ball, this was the part he tried to edit out of his mind. He would erase the litany of it. He would keep, though, the moments when he says: Don’t talk like that, and: We could stay here forever and I always want to work with you. There was always the usual blank look in the Corporal's stormy eyes until the words would hit. There would be the sudden withdraw of disgust, his mouth smirking in mild amusement and the momentary whimsical dreams flee out the window of his mind. It made Eren grimace. And other parts also. Eren told himself it is only natural for him to do so—it was a conquering, of sorts against Levi’s own bitter mindset. 

“Eren, you alright?” Armin’s gentle voice swayed Eren out of his trance. He had been walking to the party. How he was able to meander his way through the streets and all along beside his own thoughts was beyond him. 

“Hm?” Eren looked up at his friend. “Oh, yes. I’m fine.”

Armin placed a hand on Eren’s shoulder. “Mikasa and I are going to head in before of you. Connie and Jean needed some help setting up the tables of food.”

He nodded. “Alright, I’ll meet you in there. I’m going to get a breath of fresh air before the party starts.”

"Meet us soon, Eren." Mikasa was pouting, her dark eyes glistened. 

Eren nodded in reassurance. "I'll be there soon. Don't miss me too much."

With a quick wave, Mikasa took Armin’s hand and the two smiled and disappeared amongst the partycomers, hurrying through bodies into the now dim-lit ballroom in the back of the castle. 

From a quick glance inside, the castle walls were a miraculous and glittering gold shine. They were so bright and shiny that one practically felt the need to throw up their arms and shield themselves from the glare of the light. Three dozen crystal chandeliers spiraled down from the arching sky-blue ceiling, illuminating the glimmering golden walls and a floor so polished it looked like an iced-over lake. It was the exact shade of blue of a sunny summer day, sending a lovely diffused golden light over the ballroom’s guests. And how they glittered as well. 

A group of three women who had begun twirling on the dance floor all had flowing, elaborately-bejeweled ball gowns of the most beautiful shades of emerald, ruby and amethyst. They probably smelled of roses, hyacinth and jasmine along with every other flower in the garden outside the castle, where the women liked to take long walks through when they found the leisurely time to do so. Eren could hear the men’s low chatter as they talked among themselves and laughed, seemingly at ease in this alien, glittering world. 

Eren looked down, in his simple black suit he wore, and sighed, clearly out of place from all the shining light inside.

Sitting down on the top step of the stairway into the castle, Eren stretched his legs out. The nightly breeze tousled his chestnut hair into buoyant curls, and drifting leaves danced in the open dark air. The breeze fluttered around, gently caressing everything it touched with fingers that had been a comfort for so many seasons.

All at once, the noises engulfed Eren, completely capturing his brain, rendering any logical thought or conclusion impossible.

Bathed in the early moonlight and spewing red-orange flames, a gigantic creature with wings as dark as the night sky streaked across Eren’s line of sight like a meteor. Eren was struck stupid, his mouth gaping in amazement as the creature’s flames contrailed behind its fiery mouth and sparks scattered in the air like flares. Eren's dark hair blew in the breeze and the small pebbles that dotted the ground around him shook. 

“This is completely crazy,” he muttered, shaking his head in disbelief, “absolutely _fucking_ crazy.” He had never witnessed something so massive. The titans were one thing, but this creature was different. It was almost majestic. While on first glance of a titan would bring fear, this brought amazement.

He looked out over the field where the creature disappeared, and there was a distant rumble as the ground shook again from the creature's impact with the earth. Eren kept his eyes opened. 

Faint wisps of smoke were rising from the now burnt corn in the field, and there was silence as there was before. Looking around, Eren realized no one else had seen or felt the gigantic creature's presence. The ballroom was still lit by the hundreds of candles outside, inside and from up high. Drink glasses were clinking as oversea champagnes and wines were being poured and people in their extravagant party gowns were continuing to talk amongst themselves as if nothing had happened. 

_Was I the only one who saw that?_ Eren thought to himself. 

There would be immediate chaos if everyone had just witnessed that. He looked back out at the creature's landing spot and rose to his feet, his eyes continuing to fixate on the field. He knew what he had to do next.

Eren, panting and sweating bullets, tore through the field, his black boots squishing and sinking into the muddy dirt, deeper and deeper with every step he took. He stumbled over small roots, but kept running towards the creature.

 _When… did I start running?_ His mind was perplexed. His feet wouldn’t stop. 

His body was drawn to this creature, and though he should have alerted the guards, Eren had no time for that since he was so damn close to finishing the threat off himself. 

The field fought him, but Eren fought back harder. Running in a corn field was different from running on the beach. At least on the beach, you wouldn’t be slapped in the face by corn stalks. 

Eren’s side began cramping from the tight slacks he wore for the first time in a long time, but that didn’t matter. Taking this creature out was all that mattered at the moment. He rummaged through his pocket and pulled out his hand knife and cursed softly. “Not exactly the best weapon of choice, but this will do.”

The scales were the color of the night, not a coincidence, but merely a function of its multi-chromatic skin. They overlapped, neatly laid down the creature's spine and continued down to the very edges of its bat-like wings. They fanned like aggressive blooms from its massive feet to its curved elbows. 

There the creature lay, a soft but continuous and low thrumming that stemmed from its massive jaws and nostrils as it breathed in and exhaled. Its tongue lolled between its mandibular jawline, shrouded in spikes. Small grey clouds of smoke poured out between its sharp teeth, and Eren could feel the heat from the few feet away he was. Eren took hesitant steps, his knife pressed to his back. 

The reflectant scales glimmered in the moonlight and it was one of the most beautiful sights Eren had ever witnessed. And for a brief moment, Eren forgot time. His irises were trapped in the illuminated armor covering the creature who was simply existing. Fear was forgotten. Though the bright amber eyes gaze into Eren's, he didn't tremble as one would instinctively, but shook in wonder, leading his clumsy, mud-covered boots tripping on the uneven dirt. 

There was a low grumble from the creature's mouth as it exhaled its radiantly warm fumes onto Eren once more. Shakily standing to his feet, Eren approached the open, with nowhere to hide between him and the beast. 

_You came all this way just to look at it?_ Eren's conscious protested loudly, rattling his mind. _Do you know what you came here for? Make quick work of it._

With a trembling hand, Eren tightly gripped the knife, now holding it before him. The creature lolled its giant head and yawned loudly, adjusting its tattered wings against the soft corn stalks it lay upon.

"Don't you know what I'm here for?" Eren finally mustered up the words to say. "You're already a threat to us." The dragon flapped its spiked tail against the stalks, nonchalantly. "Though you haven't really done anything yet…" Eren scratched his head. "People won't be happy to see you." He inched closer. 

Once Eren leaned over the creature, he watched its chest rise and fall. Its breathing was no longer staggered and heavy, instead it was peaceful. Eren inhaled deeply. The creature had a smoky smell to him, nothing like the cigarettes the Garrisons used to puff, but an almost organic, wilderness, forest fire kind of smoky aura. The moment Eren touched its skin, shivers ran down his spine. It was as if his fingers were tracing icy, stiff metal. Vague pieces of flashbacks filled his mind as he gazed up at the constellations above in the dark sky: 

_War flashed before his eyes as two massive dragons collide midair in a twirling of maddening shrieks and tearing of scales and flesh. Blood poured from the hundreds of dying creatures dotting an unknown countryside of flowers, trees and wildlife. Pain from broken wings and jaws from previous battles as the creature’s would drag their dying bodies to safety. Wrath that grew from their fire consuming their minds deep within. Sorrow from losses of friends and families. Death._

“I can’t do it,” Eren closed his eyes, sheathing his knife beneath his suit and placed his warm palms against the willing dragon’s snout, their breaths in sync. “I can’t kill you.” 

From only meters behind him, hidden in the stalks, Levi scowled. His dark eyes barely wavered at the sight of the creature, and a sigh escaped his lips. “Damn idiot.”

Zeke Jaeger paced within the dark edifice of Marley, his bare feet slapping the damp, rocky floor. The chill had no effect on him, he was used to the cold snow-capped mountains anyways. 

Try as he might, the repetitive motion failed to quell his agitation. His plans had gone horribly wrong. The Corps’ Commander and shield were surprisingly resistant and powerful, so much in fact, that his mind was still lingering over the headache like an ancient memory. 

He had not anticipated the Corps to bend him this far back. The task should have been easy: overpower the Corps and take back his younger step-brother to his true homeland. But he underestimated their power, especially that of Levi Ackerman’s. The short man's overwhelming resolve of keeping and enslaving his young brother had Zeke feeling nauseous. 

In the end, the whole failed mission left his head burning in agony, forcing his retreat as Levi’s sword slit through his face, nearly annihilating his forces. So he was to remain in the shadows until his allies returned. This upcoming plan hinged entirely on secrecy. It would be far easier than carrying out a task of endangering the lives of himself, comrades and his step-brother. He couldn’t wait to get rid of the world’s abomination of mankind, and to properly meet his sibling, who remained impure and brainwashed by his father as he once was. 

He continued to pace, working out his temper. Growing desperate, Zeke stopped, looking up at his ceiling. “Why not tomorrow?” 

Gabi, a small girl peeked around the corner of his wooden doorway. “Tomorrow, sir?” 

“You’d been watching this whole time?” Zeke repressed his anger, putting on a forced smile at the young girl.

Hesitantly, she stepped in. “I… Yes, sir. I’ve been worried about you.”

“Tomorrow we’ll attack. We have an army of dragons who had already been released towards the Shiganshina district my step-brother once lived in.”

Gabi nodded, giving Zeke a smile. “Should I let the others know?”

“ _Yes_ ,” Zeke assured her. “I’ve waited three years for this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thanks for the support everyone! I've been so busy with work I barely had time to even think about this story. But here's to AoT!


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